Wednesday, April 29, 2026
FB X LI YT
Breaking
“Stay out of Oyo affairs” — Think Yoruba First fires warning at Nonentity Igbo group over comments on Olubadan stool, political matters “Genocidal and diabolical” — Think Yoruba First blasts Farooq Kperogi over claims that Ilorin, Shao, Jebba are not Yoruba towns 🇳🇬📚 Ridwan Ajayi emerges new NANS JCC Lagos chairman after 5-5 tiebreaker vote — 10 tertiary institutions participated 🇳🇬📜 130 CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS PETITION KWARA GOVERNOR OVER DELAY OF BAALE’S UPGRADE LETTER — ACCUSE COMMISSIONER OF BLOCKING ELEVATION ON OBAS’ ORDERS! 🇳🇬🎀 RIHANNA WEARS YORUBA GELE — A Global Icon Embraces Our Heritage, Proving Gele Will Never Be Reduced to a Slur! 🇳🇬🔥 FAVORITISM UNMASKED: Seyi Tinubu Empowers Imo Youth With Freezers, Gives Yorubaland Rice and Foodstuffs That Will Finish in a Week — Is It Because His Wife Is Igbo? The first revelation landed like a thunderbolt. Ella, the face of the campaign against Omotoso, had privately apologized to him. That apology never made it online. According to the Commissioner, it was omitted because it did not serve what he described as a calculated clout-chasing agenda. The public was fed a version of events designed to provoke outrage, not inform discourse. 🇳🇬💔 2000 KADUNA RELIGIOUS CRISIS: When Sharia Introduction Sparked Bloodshed — Over 500 Feared Dead, Churches, Mosques, Businesses Razed!
NEWS

Olympic Qualifiers: 68 African Boxers Crash Out in Italy

March 14, 2024 • 2 min read

Africa’s quest for a Paris Olympics spot at the qualifiers held in Busto-Arsizio, Italy ended on a sour note with all the 68 boxers failing to earn one of the 49 available slots in the first World Olympic Qualification tournament, which ended on Tuesday.

As at Monday, there were only three female African boxers left in the competition as 65 African boxers, including all 48 male pugilists, were already eliminated before the quarter-finals.

The three female boxers lost their fights on Monday night.

Tunisia’s bantamweight Islem Ferchichi was the first casualty, beaten by Vietnam’s Vo Thi Kim Anh, who dominated the three rounds for a convincing unanimous points victory.

Much was expected from Cape Verde’s Ivanusa Moreira, the African welterweight champion, when she squared up against 2019 world silver medallist Angela Carini, but the Italian remained in the driver’s seat, winning each of the three rounds 10:9 for a 30:27 victory.

Nigeria’s Africa silver medallist Patricia Mbata was the most impressive among the three African boxers.

After losing the first round 10:9 points, Mbata rallied back strongly in the second round, which she won 10:8 to lead 19-18 because of a point deducted after a warning on Polish 2014 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Elzbieta Wojcik.

However, Wojcik bounced back to take the third round 10-9 to tie the score at 28-28.

With Wojcik winning two rounds, the pendulum tilted in her favour and was declared 5-0 winner.

Mbata’s defeat marked a miserable end of the road to Paris for the 68 African boxers who took part in the Italy qualifiers as none of them qualified for the Paris Olympics.

However, all is not lost for the African boxers as they still have another chance to try their luck at the second World Olympic Qualifiers scheduled for Bangkok, Thailand from May 23 to June 3.

With most of the elite boxers booking their Paris tickets in the continental and the Italy qualifiers, the Thailand qualifiers will be less competitive, giving the top African boxers a chance of making it to the Olympic Games.

So far, Africa has 18 boxers, including three Nigerians, who’ve booked their Paris tickets after the Africa Olympic qualifiers last year in Dakar, Senegal.